Many people during his time at hanggang ngayon hindi kinikilala si Cristo bilang pundasyon. “Itinakwil” siya ng mga tao. We suffer rejection? We remember that our Savior was also rejected by men. At bakit naman tayo magtitiwala sa kanya na rejected by many? Dahil sa paningin ng Diyos siya ay “chosen and precious.” Walang ibang makapagliligtas sa atin maliban sa kanya. No one is more precious or more worthy of honor than Jesus. At ang ginawa niya sa krus para sa atin, God considers “precious” (1:19). Yes, he died a shameful and painful death on the cross. But that is not the end of his story. Si Buddha ang tinuturing ng pundasyon ng Buddhism, si Mohammad sa Islam. Pero lahat sila ay namatay at nanatiling patay. Jesus died, but he rose again from the dead. “Siya ang batong buhay.” A living stone. He is what we need.

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy (vv. 9-10).

Yung v. 9 may allusion sa Exodus 19:4-6. Iniligtas ng Diyos ang Israel out of 400 years of slavery sa Egypt. That redemption gave them a new identity. Kung susunod sila sa Diyos, “…you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (vv. 5-6). Siyempre yung history nila full of unfaithfulness. Pero faithful din ang Diyos na magmahal sa kanila. Yung v. 10 naman sa text natin may allusion sa Hosea (1:6, 9, 10; 2:23). Kinaawaan sila ng Diyos. Itinuring pa rin silang para sa Diyos. Para ano? So that they will bring God’s story of mercy sa ibang lahi. They were blessed to be a blessing, as they obey God. Pero puro kapalpakan. Yung calling ng Israel, tinupad lahat ni Cristo. In Christ, we are the new Israel, the new people of God. Yun na yung bago nating identity. New identity. New purpose.

“A chosen race.” Biyaya ng Diyos ang pagkakapili sa atin. Tulad ng Israel. Not because they were better. No. Out of sheer grace. For us to put on display hindi ang galing o husay o yaman natin, but to put on display the grace of God in Jesus.

“A royal priesthood.” Kanina sa v. 5, “spiritual house” yung image na ginamit. Anong purpose? “To be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” Ang function ng priest ay to represent the people to God, para ilapit ang tao sa Diyos, para maging mediator kumbaga. Siyempre si Jesus ang Great High Priest. At naging “holy” tayo dahil kay Cristo. At naging “royal” o kingly ang priesthood natin as a church because of King Jesus. Kaya we can offer “spiritual sacrifices” na magiging acceptable sa Diyos “through Jesus Christ.” So our purpose in life is to represent him as King, as Priest, as Mediator, as Savior. Not just in words, but also in deeds. Not just individually, but corporately as a church.

Kahit sa sufferings, we are also witnesses. Your sufferings can be a witness to the supremacy and sufficiency of God. Your troubled marriage can point others to the intimacy we have in God. Your financial difficulties can point others to the sufficiency we have in Christ. The persecution and injustice you are suffering can point people to the security we have in Jesus. Don’t waste your sufferings. Remember who you are in Christ. And you will be more committed and focused sa layunin ng Diyos kung bakit ka niya piniling iligtas, namely, to give witness to his grace in Jesus.